Taxpayers lost £74m when 6.5m doses of an anti-flu drug were written off as being past their shelf life because of poor record keeping by the health service, the Guardian reports. Whitehall correspondent Rajeev Syall writes:

The government also spent £424m stockpiling 40m units of Tamiflu between 2006-07 and 2012-13, despite question marks over the effectiveness of the drug, a National Audit Office memo says.

The drug had been stockpiled to fight possible flu pandemics. But reports suggest that Tamiflu has not always been effective, because viruses have developed resistance to the drug in some cases.

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the public accounts committee, said she was shocked by the amount of money spent on the drug, and by the failure to keep proper records of when and where it had been bought, particularly in the light of disagreement among experts over its ability to reduce complications.

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has responded to Sir David Nicholson's retirement announcement. He said:

Despite the difficulties of recent months, today's announcement provides an opportunity to focus on Sir David's contribution to the NHS over the past three decades, the significant achievements over the lifetime of his career and during his time as the chief executive of the NHS.

Sir David came into office as NHS chief executive in 2006 and immediately led a major recovery from the deficit that the health service faced at that time. Over subsequent years he led the delivery of a remarkable reduction in waiting times for urgent and elective care, with access to treatment improving faster than almost any comparable health system. There have been significant improvements in patient outcomes and a huge reduction in healthcare acquired infections. In recent years, he presided over the largest structural reform in the history of the NHS.

NHS England will now need to look forward and appoint a leader who must empower the local clinicians and managers heading up the new commissioning system so that it can deliver what is needed in the years ahead.

Julie Bailey, from campaign group Cure The NHS, has responded to the announcement of Sir David Nicholson's retirement plans. Bailey, who set up the group after her mother Bella died at Stafford hospital in 2007, has been leading the calls for the under-fire chief executive to resign. She said that since the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry report was published, Nicholson's position had been "untenable". She added:

It is fantastic news. This is the start of the cure for the NHS. We can start to look to the future now. He was part of the problem - not part of the solution. We now need a leader who will galvanise and inspire the front line, not bully them.

I have only ever had one ambition and that is to improve the quality of care for patients. I still passionately believe in what NHS England intends to do. My hope is that by being clear about my intentions now will give the organisation the opportunity to attract candidates of the very highest calibre so they can appoint someone who will be able to see this essential work through to its completion.

Even in retirement I will always be the staunchest advocate of the NHS. I continue, and will always continue, to be inspired and moved by the passion that those who work in the NHS show. I also want to recognise the contribution of staff in the NHS and their recent efforts working in such a challenging environment have been nothing short of heroic.

Nicholson has worked in the NHS for 35 years in more than 14 organisations covering all care groups and parts of the NHS.

He was NHS chief executive for almost seven years and in October 2011 he agreed to become chief executive of the NHS Commissioning Board, now known as NHS England, and also led the NHS during the recent period of transition.

David Nicholson is to retire next year. Photograph: Martin Godwin/Martin Godwin for the Guardian

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said:

Under Sir David Nicholson's leadership, NHS waiting times have fallen, infection rates reduced, and mixed sex accommodation is at an all-time low. His job has often been incredibly complex and very difficult, and yet he has always had a reputation for staying calm, and maintaining a relentless focus on what makes a difference on the NHS frontline. I am also grateful to him for overseeing the successful setting up of NHS England and giving us an orderly period in which to select his successor.

NHS foundation trusts deliver £30bn in economic value annually, according to new research examining how they boost local economies. The report, Providing Value: The economic and social value of foundation trusts, published by Barclays and the Foundation Trust Network sets out, for the first time, the economic benefits regionally. This is demonstrated through the employment of staff, procurement of services, and partnership work with other public and private sector organisations in addition to spending on research and direct support of local suppliers, transport operators, energy providers and construction firms.

There are over 1,000 more health visitors working in the NHS now compared to 2010, the Department of Health has announced. Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said:

Health visitors are essential for giving every child the best start in life. Recruiting and training more is a priority for us and it's good that we're already at over 1,000 extra health visitors since May 2010, and well on our way to achieving our target of an extra 4,200 in 2015. There are over 2,000 health visitors currently in training, with more places planned for next year.

For every pound we spend on health visitors we receive many times more in return, the support they offer parents and babies in providing the best start in life is invaluable.

The shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, asked an urgent question on A&E services in the Commons earlier today. The Press Association reports that Jeremy Hunt claimed during a heated exchange that Labour's decision to reform out-of-hours care has had a huge and devastating impact on hospital accident and emergency departments. Hunt told MPs:

I will tell you the evidence - Patrick Cadigan, of the Royal College of Physicians, who says that the pressures on A&E are caused because for many people they assume that after 5pm the lights in the NHS go out everywhere except A&E departments - a direct consequence of the disastrous changes to the 2004 contract. Last year's GP patient survey last year said that only 58% of patients know how to contact their local out-of-hours service, and said that 20% of patients find it difficult to contact their out-of-hours service, that 37% of patients feel that the service is too slow - problems that we are trying to address. Perhaps you should go a visit some A&E departments, talk to some A&E consultants, talk to some doctors, talk to some nurses, because they will say to you that those changes to GPs' contracts, which you are saying have nothing to do with the pressures on A&E, have had a huge and devastating impact.

He criticises calls for two types of A&E - 111 and 999 departments separating emergencies from non-emergencies - and adds:

How about a different approach? Forget out-of-hours. Why don't we just close everything and give the money to the A&Es to run a redesigned 24-7 service, including local help-lines. GP triage, streamed access; elderly medical admissions, cardiac and orthopaedic patients by-passing A&E.

Hospital is where people want to go, feel safe and confident they will be seen by someone who knows what they are doing. Why spend a fortune trying to change it? Or is there really truth in another urban myth; the NHS is run by King Canute.

Jeremy Hunt briefed fellow ministers on A&E performance at this morning's regular weekly meeting of Cabinet at 10 Downing Street, reports the Press Association. It says following the meeting, David Cameron's official spokesman told reporters:

The most recent statistics (show that) over the last three weeks, A&E performance has actually exceeded the 95% standards for people admitted or discharged within four hours. There are also 1 million more people visiting A&E than three years ago.

And the British Red Cross has issued a statement on A&E pressures. Adrian Thomas, head of media and external affairs at the charity, said:

The NHS is at full stretch, and can't do this alone. Right now there are too many people falling through the gaps, and often the British Red Cross and organisations like us are left to pick up the pieces.

Our services assist vulnerable people on discharge from hospital, making a big difference. Hospitals are creaking under the strain and there is a funding crisis in social care which means that community-based services that could relieve that pressure are themselves struggling,” he explained.

Mike Farrar is right to say that we need to take the broadest possible view in finding a solution. Latest British Red Cross research shows that equipping people with first aid skills gives them the confidence to respond to emergencies; and also reduce the need to go to A&E for minor illnesses and injuries.

Evaluating these innovations is essential to make sure that treatment is cost effective. But unless we have medical practicioners compete, we can not reveal which methods are best. It's that process of innovation and competition that can reveal better ways of delivering care.

Veroncia Beechey has written about health and social care integration for Our NHS. She asks whether it is a blueprint for the future. She writes:

Firstly, there are no quick fixes. Reshaping health and social care requires vision, leadership, time and persistence. It involves planning and consultation with healthcare professionals and local authorities as well as local communities, patients and service users.

She adds:

In the brave new world of integration we could be looking forward to a system in which patients and service users enjoy high quality joined-up care, partnership working, and choice and control over where and how they are treated.

We could however be facing a grimmer future with another under-funded system, mired in bureaucracy. A system, for example, which has been designed to solve specific problems (for example patients staying too long in acute hospitals, or pressures on A&E departments) but which fails to put patients and service users at its heart.

Effective telehealth relies on the clinical plan agreed between the patient and their clinician. It is that dual management plan that specifies the purpose of using telehealth, describes what it hopes to achieve and tells the patient what to do if things go wrong – for instance, if there is a jump in blood pressure. This planning stage also must take into account other dimensions of each patient's ill health or circumstances, such as another condition, adverse lifestyle habits or occupation.

Ruth Chambers is speaking at the Patient Safety Congress today in Birmingham. You can find out what's happening by following the hashtag #PSC13 on Twitter.

The National Health Action party has issued a statement on Jeremy Hunt's response to the A&E crisis. The party, formed to challenge the coalition's NHS reforms, says the health secretary should "stop blaming GPs for A&E crisis created by his own government".

The party's co-leader, Dr Clive Peedell, said:

The National Health Action Party is appalled that Jeremy Hunt is trying to pin the blame for the A&E crisis on GPs. The causes are complex but it is clear that this government’s funding cuts and reconfigurations with no clinical evidence resulting in A+E and hospital beds closures, plus the chaotic 111 telephone advice line, are all fuelling the problem. The responsibility for out of hours care now resides with GP-led Clinical Commission Groups, but many are in a state of disarray trying to deal with the Coalition's huge redisorganisation of the NHS. So the truth is that Mr Hunt and the Coalition Government are the main reason for this crisis. Jeremy Hunt should stop blaming GPs for an A&E crisis created by his own government.

Clive Peedell, founder of the National Health Action party, which intends to target 50 coalition seats at the next election. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

The NHS Confederation, the College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians are giving evidence to the Commons health committee about emergency services this morning. You can follow it live via Parliament TV.

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has issued a statement ahead of his appearance at the committee. He said while pressures were growing, and it would be impossible for hospital services to cope if admissions continued to grow at the rate they have been doing over the last decade. But, he added, the "blame game" over which parts of the NHS are at fault do not help. Farrar said:

There is no use in pointing the finger at patients, or any one part of the system when in reality it is a perfect storm of different mounting pressures causing our problems - GPs, hospitals, NHS 111, the ambulance service and social care. These pressures have been compounded by three years of major structural reforms, a lack of honesty about the situation we face, and the service not being able to respond quickly enough to the financial pressures it faces. The problems that longer waiting times in A&E highlight are an inability of the service to manage the flow of patients across and between our organisations. In particular, it reveals the imbalance of investment in primary, community and social care compared to hospital care. This runs contrary to the strategy that governments, NHS leaders, the public and patients all feel to be essential for a sustainable NHS. People may march on the streets to protect local hospital services but the vast majority would rather stay healthy and remain living independently with the support of primary and social care for as long as possible This depends on getting the balance as well as the level of investment in services right. If we don't, many people will experience the prospect of waiting longer again for the care they need.

Farrar called for urgent action to bring all parts of the service together to ensure patients have access to "the right services, in the right place at the right time".

Morning headlines

Good morning and welcome to the daily live blog from the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network. Throughout the day, we'll be bringing you news, comment and analysis from around the web.

The Guardian reports that England's 34,000 family doctors will face Ofsted-style inspections overseen by a new chief inspector of general practice to secure "safe and responsive care", the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is to announce. Social affairs editor Randeep Ramesh writes:

In March, Hunt welcomed findings of a government-commissioned review which proposed a fresh scrutiny regime and warned that there was "a clear gap in the provision of clearly presented, comprehensive and trusted information on the quality of care". Last year it was estimated that 10%of all GP practices posed a "significant risk" to patients – and would require physical inspections.

In a set of plans designed to underline the health secretary's pro-pensioner credentials, the health secretary will also say on Tuesday that every vulnerable elderly person will have a "named" NHS worker responsible for organising their heath and care needs. Keeping track of the myriad of care organisations and NHS appointments is a distressing experience and Hunt says older patients want to know who is responsible for their care.

A designated worker would help integrate health and social care as well as keeping the elderly out of hospital A&E wards, he says.

Elsewhere, the BBC reports that ministers have been told they must go further with their overhaul of social care in England by merging its budget with the NHS. It says the King's Fund has called for a joint budget to encourage the two systems to work together more closely.

And the Independent says the accident and emergency crisis is so severe that doctors can no longer guarantee safe care for patients. NHS officials made the warning in a leaked letter seen by the Independent; it says a combination of “toxic overcrowding” and “institutional exhaustion” is putting lives at risk. The letter to senior NHS managers from the leaders of 20 emergency departments reportedly says:

What is entirely unacceptable is the delivery of unsafe care, but that is now the prospect we find ourselves facing on too frequent a basis.

If there's a story, report or event you'd like to highlight – or you would like to share your thoughts on any of the healthcare issues in the news today – you can get in touch by leaving a comment below the line or tweeting us at @GdnHealthcare.